Gao Shiqi was ordered to return to Beijing. On the day he entered the city, he was summoned to the palace to pay homage to the emperor. Within half a minute of the conversation between the monarch and his ministers, Gao Shiqi burst into tears.
He cried so hard in front of Kangxi that he couldn't lift his head. It was all sincere sadness. He was old, and after serving his mother in his hometown of Pinghu and living a leisurely and peaceful life, he didn't want to return to this place at all.
Accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger. No one knows the blood and treachery in the center of power better than Gao Shiqi, who has served in the South Study Room for many years. If he had a choice, he really didn't want to come back. But Kangxi had issued edicts three times, and Gao Shiqi had no choice but to obey the order.
Return to Beijing.
So, when the monarch and his ministers looked back on the past and talked about Zhu Yizun and other old friends, Gao Dan burst into tears.
"Back then, I wanted to compete with Mr. Zhu for favor, lest he win the Holy Heart even more in front of you, the Emperor. Now think about it, why bother?" Gao Shiqi wiped his tears and said, "I only want to work for the Holy Emperor and serve the Emperor sincerely. Why bother to think so much?
Alas, the authorities are deluded."
Kangxi looked at him and was very moved, "Yes, the world has changed over the years, no wonder you have this sentiment. I asked you to come back this time, and it is because there are fewer people around you who can speak your mind. I will treat you as you have been in the past."
I am on duty in the South Study Room. We, the monarchs and ministers, are still the same as before. You go down and rest for two days, and then come to the South Study Room for your duty."
"I obey the decree and thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty."
On the third day after Gao Shiqi returned to Beijing, he met Chengde in Ouchi. Times have changed. No matter how much trouble they caused because of Xu Qianxue, now Gao Shiqi and Chengde can be regarded as extinguishing their grudges at first sight. Not only that, the two can also
Let’s reminisce together and talk about the past.
"Amma also mentioned you a few days ago." Cheng De said, "When it comes to this dynasty, we should be cautious and alert, and we should put you first."
Mingzhu's original words were not so pleasant. What Mingzhu said was, "That fox of Gao Danren, who slips his beard to flatter him, speculates on the holy will, adds insult to injury, and plots for power, is top-notch! Even your brothers can't keep up with the flattery."
Chengde couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth and said with a smile, "Dan people have been back to their hometown for many years, and now they have been specially recalled by the emperor. Amma also wants to chat with you. My mother's birthday will be next month, and it will be too busy with people coming and going.
On the contrary, it is not beautiful.”
"I won't hide it either. Maybe you have also heard that there was a turmoil in the capital before, and even our family was almost swept into it. If Mr. Danren is free, he might as well come to the house recently to talk about it."
Gao Shiqi had heard a little bit about the turmoil, and coincidentally, he also wanted to find someone to ask. This person had to be familiar with it, and could have a stance, but he had to be clear about his stance so that he could eliminate the bad and keep the good.
Gao Shiqi then agreed to Chengde's invitation, and the two broke up. Gao Shiqi was about to return to his residence in the inner city, when he heard someone calling him from behind as soon as he left Xihua Gate.
"Mr. Danren? Gao Danren!"
Gao Shiqi looked back and saw that it was the prince's uncle Lun Bu and the prince Zhan Shi and Wang Shihong, who were old acquaintances. Gao Shiqi smiled and came up to him, "Second Master Lun, Wang Zhanshi, why are you two here together?"
"Hey, I want to go back to my hometown, so I won't delay your business." Lunbu said with a smile, "I heard that the emperor has added a Hanlin bachelor to you? I would like to congratulate you first, and I will greet Gao Xueshi another day. Gao Xueshi,
Wang Zhan, please chat slowly, I'll leave first."
Gao Shiqi couldn't hide his surprise. This Hesheli Lunbu used to be a little transparent. At that time, even his brother Changtai was completely covered by Suo'etu. When Gao Shiqi left the capital, Changtai had just emerged.
He was transferred by Kangxi to make firearms. Unexpectedly, after so many years, Changtai was deposed and returned home, but this Lunbu was so experienced and neat.
"Second Master Lun, let's go slowly." Gao Shiqi smiled and did not say anything about going to the banquet.
After Lunbu left, Wang Shihong said, "You must be of great importance when you come back this time. His Highness also said before that he would like to ask you for advice on the Zuo Zhuan of the Spring and Autumn Period. Wang Hongxu and Wan Sitong are about to compile the first draft of the History of the Ming Dynasty. I will invite you another day."
Reward together."
When Gao Shiqi resigned and returned home, Kangxi still gave him the title of Zhan Shifu. Logically speaking, he was still Wang Shihong's senior and should also assist the prince. He looked at Wang Shihong, his heart changed, and he smiled and said, "Then
Of course, if His Highness summons me, there is no reason not to obey. However, I heard that there was some turmoil before, and I wonder if the East Palace can be safe?"
"Well, thanks to the emperor's preservation, the East Palace is safe and peaceful." Wang Shihong actually had red eyes, "Otherwise, Your Highness would have been in a difficult situation. Dan people don't know anything, there are treacherous ministers in the court, and the Mingzhu party is dead but not dead, and asking for the forehead and the prime minister is not the same.
It doesn’t make people worry!”
"Dan Ren is back now. You can be by the Emperor's side..." Wang Shihong choked and cried, "You must speak for His Highness!"
Gao Shiqi felt a headache and quickly changed the subject, "I didn't hear everything on the way here, just what I heard. Otherwise, Wen Sheng, can you tell me?"
Wang Shihong would naturally side with the crown prince, but he only sided with the crown prince. He didn't like either Mingzhu or Suo'etu. The former was okay, but it had collapsed. Chengde was not a person who didn't know the importance of things.
Prince Zhi, who has been around for a long time, does not seem to be an ambitious person who does not know how to advance or retreat in recent years.
But Suo'etu is different. They always stir up trouble in the name of the prince, and that's it for setting up a grandson. But in the case of the examination, if it wasn't for Yisang'a and the others to gain fame and reputation, how could they put the prince at the forefront! Wang Shihong only hates it.
If I can't imitate the righteous men of the previous dynasty, I might as well kill Suo'etu, my relative!
What he said was full of indignation. Gao Shiqi accompanied his indignation on his face, but in his heart he was thinking that since Wang Shihong was a hardcore man, he could only listen to half of what he said. As for the other half, Gao Shiqi decided to go to Mingzhu Mansion another day to meet this man.
Let’s talk to the former Taifu.
Mrs. Jueluo has been ill intermittently this year. She was not very well in the winter last year and was still taking medicine until the spring. When the Ming Dynasty almost capsized, the wife originally wanted to keep a low profile and not hold any birthday banquet. But Mingzhu thought
It might be good to give your wife a happy birthday.
"Not only for your mother-in-law, but also for Niuniu." Mingzhu said to Chengde, "The girl's family is older, and she is no better than Fuge. You should also choose a husband for her. You should also be more considerate."
"My son knows this well. I want to choose a son-in-law for Niu Niu among the new scholars." Cheng De smiled and said, "In the early years, Niu Niu was not in good health, so I asked her to be exempted from the selection. Now it is time to choose a handsome man for her, so that the family will be clean and tidy."
Yes, be reasonable, the boy is nice, that’s enough.”
"Oh, you sound like you are not satisfied yet?" Mingzhu laughed. "To choose a son-in-law for the girl in our family, the boy's parents must be reasonable. The boy himself has good character and knows how to make progress. Niuniu's fate will be indispensable in the future. That's enough."
.”
There are only two girls in the Nalan family, Niuniu, the daughter of Chengde, and the second daughter of Kuixu, this one is still younger. Girls are not as good as boys. Boys can earn their own fame, and whatever they get is their own.
Wife shadows children. A girl can only rely on her father, grandfather, and husband. Niuniu in her family is not drafted, so naturally she cannot marry into the clan, which is a good thing. But her future fame will depend on her husband.
"My son has already drafted the matter about Niuniu. I will report it to you after reading it again." Cheng De said, "It is something that the eldest brother told me before he left. Has Amma thought about how to say it?"
Thinking of this, Chengde was also surprised. All the people from Zhijun Prince had left, but he made an appointment with his Ama to show Suo'etu a good look! And the breakthrough point was Gao Shiqi.
Kangxi did not summon Gao Shiqi back to the capital for nothing. The Qianqing Palace used to send letters to the south. The emperor usually sent letters to Sanzhizao, especially Jiangningzhizao and Cao Yin. The imperial edicts usually came from clear edicts, but secret edicts to the imperial edicts were excluded, and Sanzhi’s daily letters, then who did Kangxi write the extra letters to?
In addition to the officials and San Zhizao, Kangxi would also write letters to Gao Shiqi, and he was the only one who had the honor to do so. When nothing else happened in the court, the amount of Kangxi's letters suddenly increased. This abnormal situation shows that the emperor wrote letters Not for business—at least not something that can be brought to the table.
Qin Jile recorded the number of times the emperor ordered people to deliver letters through the eunuchs of the Qianqing Palace. Yinti did a little calculation and knew that the emperor was probably unconventional. Gao Shiqi wrote several letters. Since he decided to do so during Kangxi's southern tour When he returned to Beijing, why did the emperor write letters urging him to do so?
Combined with the emperor's attitude towards Yin Reng after returning from the southern tour, Kangxi's call for Gao Shiqi to come back must be related to the prince. Combined with the fact that the last letter was written in the middle of the month when the imperial examination case broke out, Kangxi may not have allowed him to have detailed information about the affairs in the capital.
So after Yinti asked to leave the capital, he had a secret talk with Mingzhu. Whether they could take a piece of meat from Suo'etu this time would depend on how well they performed this time.
"Uncle, Suo San must have had a hand in this matter."
Yinti was very sure, "Sorentu told me that Sorentu didn't like to show up, and even claimed to be ill to avoid suspicion, but Aljishan and Gelfen went out a lot. They were still in mourning, and they went out frequently at sensitive times. This could help What!"
"I guess so." In the Ziyi Garden, Mingzhu nodded in agreement, "90% of the time, the old guy felt that he needed to divert his attention, not only to save himself, but also to save the prince. He has to do things anyway, so why not take care of you? You've all been dragged into the trap. You were careless. If I had known this, why not have I taken action first!"
"What you said is biased." Yinti said with a smile, "If Suo'etu deceives us, I can still go to Khan Ama to ask for mercy. If there is even the slightest suspicion that you have done something, then my nephew will be in trouble. .Khan Amma will definitely protect the prince. Even if you take action first and interfere with other matters, we can't escape."
"So, this time Gao Shiqi returns to Beijing, I guess he wants to ask about the imperial examination case, and privately, you are not a life-and-death enemy, but you are kind. He returned to the capital to catch up with his aunt's birthday, even if he didn't express it, We can't be rude, the invitations still need to be sent. However, it depends on how you talk to him."
It's not about biting the prince, but biting Suo'etu... Gao Shiqi must understand that Suo'etu is an old lunatic, and he bit the prince just for himself. As long as Kangxi made up his mind to deal with Suo'etu, what happened next would be It will be completely derailed.
After being father and son for more than 20 years, Yindi understood Kangxi. At that time, the emperor wanted to pacify the Three Feuds, stabilize the situation, and take over Taiwan. So in the face of Galdan's constant attacks on Khalkha and even Horqin's deviant behavior, Kangxi repeatedly Expressed tolerance.
Not only did he tolerate it, he also continued to give Galdan titles, especially whichever tribe Galdan successfully attacked, Kangxi would immediately add titles to him. This was simply condoning him in disguise, giving Galdan
The illusion that "the imperial court is very weak now".
In the end, Galdan ended up with a broken drum and thousands of people beating him, and he died in despair.
So, if he wants to deal with Suo'etu now, he will indulge him. If he doesn't want to deal with Suo'etu, he will let Suo'etu go home, just like he asked Mingzhu to resign.
"So, what if the emperor asks Suo'etu to retire?" Mingzhu finally asked, "Dealing with him will give people the feeling of hurting the prince. The same thing happened in Changtai back then. Don't forget... Unless it is a last resort, the emperor
Won’t do that.”
"So, it's Gao Shiqi." There was a smile on Yinti's face. "Suo'etu is not a broad-minded person. Don't you know? Because of the matter of establishing a grandson back then, I heard that now he and his second uncle are both
Without meeting each other, the people of Gaodan are not afraid that the prince will succeed to the throne in the future. If such a person stays with the prince, it will harm his descendants?"
"How did my uncle use Xu Qian's nephew to make a fuss back then? In the future, he may not use Gao Shiqi's nephew to make a fuss. Will the Gao family be as troubled as the Xu family?"
Mingzhu didn't blush when old things were brought up again. He nodded slightly and said, "It's true that Gao Dan was poor in his early years, and his family was just an ordinary family. He served his mother, took care of his brothers, nephews, and in-laws, all of which he spent a lot of money on."
.
I heard Cheng De say that he restrained his children very strictly, fearing that they would cause trouble. Gao Danren had made a lot of connections in the court over the years, even though he and Zhu Yizun did not have a bad relationship at the time... Only Suo'etu, if someone would confront him due to personal grudges in the future
The most likely family member he values most is Suo'etu."
The uncle and nephew looked at each other and smiled. Needless to say, even if the Suo'etu was not that great, wouldn't Mingzhu exaggerate?
There are some things that you are afraid of thinking about, and the more you think about them, the more worried you become. Especially for smart people, the things they value most are in danger of being destroyed, and this hidden danger can be eliminated secretly. This smart person will not sit still and wait for death.
Fear will amplify a person's desire for destruction. When he feels that only by destroying the enemy can he ensure safety, the fun begins.